Micron Technology, the US memory-chip maker, has delivered another set of bumper results, and markets have taken them as proof that the artificial intelligence spending boom still has legs.
The figures landed after the close on Wall Street on Wednesday, so Asia had the first chance to react.
Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 3.3%, with chip equipment makers Advantest and Tokyo Electron up more than 8% and about 6% respectively.
In Seoul, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, Micron's two big rivals in memory, rose 3% and 2.5%.
Nasdaq futures point to a 1.3% rise when New York opens.
The numbers
Micron's revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended in late August, came in at $54.23 billion, almost four times the $11.32 billion it made a year earlier.
Analysts had pencilled in $51.07 billion, according to LSEG data.
Adjusted earnings per share were $33.42, against forecasts of $31.61.
Net income rose to $37.7 billion from $3.2 billion.
The outlook was stronger still.
Micron expects revenue of about $61.5 billion in the current quarter, well above the $57 billion the market had expected.
It guided to adjusted earnings per share of $38.15, compared with consensus of $35.40.
Why memory matters
Memory chips store the data that processors work on, and AI models need huge amounts of it.
The key product is high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which stacks layers of standard dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) to move data faster.
Graphics processors from Nvidia and AMD use growing quantities of HBM, and the three makers, SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron, cannot produce enough.
That shortage has pushed up prices sharply.
DRAM sales rose 343% year on year to $39.8 billion, making up 73% of Micron's revenue.
Chief executive Sanjay Mehrotra said Micron was working with Nvidia on the industry's first custom HBM product.
Spending to match
Micron is investing $250 billion in two new manufacturing campuses.
Work began on the larger site, in Clay, New York, in January, and its first new plant in Boise, Idaho, is due to open next year.
Its shares have risen more than 500% over the past year, taking its stock market value above $1.2 trillion.
Hendi Susanto of Gabelli Funds called the results "another strong beat and raise".
He said he had seen no sign that the memory cycle was about to turn down.
What it means for UK investors
The results ease, for now, the worry that the money pouring into AI data centres might start to slow.
When the biggest buyers of chips keep ordering at this pace, it suggests the tech giants behind them are still spending.
London has little direct exposure to the trade, with no large chip makers in the FTSE 100.
That helps explain why the FTSE 100 is set to open lower even as Asia and US futures rally.
UK investors looking to benefit are more likely to do so through global funds and trusts that hold US and Asian technology stocks.
There is a cost to consumers too.
The memory shortage has already pushed up prices for gadgets such as Apple's iPads and MacBooks.
